Addressing the modification of his coaching staff, Falcons coach Dan Quinn believes that Raheem Morris will make an easy transition to offense as the team’s new assistant head coach/wide receivers, even though he has never worked on that side of the ball.
In addition to moving Morris from defensive passing game coordinator, Quinn named Jerome Henderson, formally of the Dallas Cowboys, as the team’s new passing game coordinator on Monday.
The moves were made after the departure of wide receivers coach Terry Robiskie, who left to become Tennessee’s offensive coordinator.
Once the Falcons were able to retain defensive backs coach Marquand Manuel, Quinn consulted Morris on the move and interviewed Henderson for the vacant position. Manuel was interviewed for the passing game coordinator job in Jacksonville.
“When I evaluated it all, I really looked for the best coach and the best fit,” Quinn said.
Morris, 39, played under Quinn in the late 1990s at Hofstra.
Such a coaching turnabout is not unprecedented. Former Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Nolan made the reverse switch, from wide receivers coach to defensive coordinator in 2001-02, when he was on Baltimore’s staff.
Morris was the head coach of the Buccaneers from 2009-11, posting a 17-31 record. He coached defensive backs and special teams at Cornell in 1999, before he broke into the NFL as a quality control assistant with Tampa Bay in 2002. But has never coached offense.
“During his time in Tampa, he was involved with the offense there, the quarterbacks and the receivers,” Quinn said. “That part, bringing the defensive perspective and knowing what I’ve seen from him as teacher, I think those are the things that make him so unique.”
Quinn acknowledged that Morris will have to pick up the intricacies of the system from offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.
“He knows the techniques defensively and some of the individual techniques,” Quinn said. “It will be a good time for him and Kyle to connect over the spring.”
Henderson, 46, interviewed with the Falcons on Friday and accepted the position on Sunday.
“I had a chance to work with him way back at the New York Jets,” Quinn said. “The first thing that I saw on the field was the passion, the drill-to-drill work, trying to find the extra (things) about a player and what makes him unique. I thought third-down and two-minute (situations), that’s really the area where (he) shined the most.
“He educated our own staff in that way. His style, I would say that he’s a teacher first. He’s one that coaches with a lot of high energy.”
Henderson was the Cowboys defensive backs coach since 2012. He interviewed for the Jacksonville defensive coordinator job, which was filled internally by Todd Wash. He also interviewed for the Browns head coaching job, but was passed over for Hue Jackson.
Henderson was the Jets defensive backs coach (2008) and assistant defensive backs coach/director of player development (2007) when Quinn was the team’s defensive line coach.
Henderson, who played in the NFL from 1991-1998 after a career at Clemson, also coached with the Browns (2009-11).
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